Tag Archives: Geed

Sustainable Earth

Kingdom Building

August 26, 2019

Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 2:4-13

Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. Thus says the Lord:
What wrong did your ancestors find in me
   that they went far from me,
and went after worthless things, and became worthless themselves?
They did not say, ‘Where is the Lord
   who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
who led us in the wilderness,
   in a land of deserts and pits,
in a land of drought and deep darkness,
   in a land that no one passes through,
   where no one lives?’
I brought you into a plentiful land
  to eat its fruits and its good things.
But when you entered you defiled my land,
   and made my heritage an abomination.
The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
   Those who handle the law did not know me;
the rulers transgressed against me;
   the prophets prophesied by Baal,
   and went after things that do not profit. –Jeremiah 2:4-8

The Amazon rain forest is burning out of control and is otherwise shrinking from corporate farmers claiming the land to grow more crops. The Amazon rain forest produces 20 percent of the oxygen in our planet’s atmosphere*. We are defiling the land to our world’s detriment. We cannot sustain life without oxygen.

God gifted us with a plentiful land over which God gave us dominion and we are not doing our part to sustain it. Dominion means a supremacy in determining and directing the actions of others or in governing politically, socially, or personally**. When we chose to define dominion as license to do whatever meets our greed-driven desires, we have only ourselves to blame for the consequences of our actions.

Prayer: Creator God, forgive us for turning our backs on the grace of your gifts. Guide us to a clearer understanding of our responsibility for the care of the earth and give us the courage to give up our greed-driven desires as we work for a sustainable earth. Amen.

*https://www.sciencealert.com/the-amazon-is-burning-at-a-record-rate-and-parts-were-intentionally-set-alight
**http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/Dominion

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Seeking Oneness

Living in the Spirit
June 27, 2018

Scripture Reading: Psalm 130
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
   Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
   to the voice of my supplications! 

If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
   Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with you,
   so that you may be revered. 

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
   and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
   more than those who watch for the morning,
   more than those who watch for the morning. 

O Israel, hope in the Lord!
   For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
   and with him is great power to redeem.
It is he who will redeem Israel
   from all its iniquities.

These words of the US Revolutionary War writer Thomas Paine popped into my head as I read the above scripture following listening to the morning news.

“THESE are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated”—Thomas Paine, The Crisis

Citizens of the United States find themselves in the middle of a Constitutional crisis where the need for due process is being challenged as well as the need for the judicial branch of our three-prong checks and balances system of governance. To a degree, we brought it on ourselves because we can be and are mesmerized by the temptation of the world particularly greed. Amos wrote about such things as did Paul. In hindsight we easily see the missteps of the Israelites Amos addressed. We recognize the challenges faced by gentiles being invited into a new way of being to whom Paul ministered. It is much harder for us to see ourselves in that same mirror.

The sad thing is our form of governance when fully supported by its citizenry works. It includes some of the same ideals Jesus taught. All people benefit from the care and concern of each other. The divide and conquer form of politics driving our country today is a disgrace to the premise of both the teachings of Jesus and the premise of our government. In both instances, we are called to work toward oneness. Reaching oneness can be a messy process. We benefit from diligently engaging in that process as our diversity is one of our major strengths. When all sides of an issue of concern are considered more feasible rules/laws result. How dear are our Constitutional rights to us?

Prayer: Lord, it feels like we are treading water without making progress and perhaps losing ground. Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on us* moving us toward oneness. Amen.

*Derived from the title of the hymn, Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me by Daniel Iverson see at https://hymnary.org/text/spirit_of_the_living_god_fall_iverson

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.